In the loading and unloading of vehicles parked adjacent a loading dock, heavy equipment such as forklifts and the like are used to facilitate and expedite the loading and unloading operation. It is imperative that the vehicle remain in a fixed abutting position relative to the loading dock to prevent serious accidents to both personnel and equipment. Without proper securement, there is a real potential hazard that the vehicle may inadvertently move away from the loading dock during the loading or unloading operation so that personnel may be injured or equipment may be damaged.
Previous attempts to employ roadway mounted restraints to prevent the vehicle from prematurely moving away from the loading dock have been largely unsuccessful or have had several shortcomings. Attempts to place wheel blocks underneath and wedged in front of the vehicle's wheels have been unsuccessful because (1) the blocks are easily lost or damaged, (2) the blocks may not operate effectively due to a slippery road surface from oil, rain, ice or snow, (3) the blocks are awkward to handle and sometimes difficult to remove from the wedged position; and (4) the blocks require the dock personnel manipulating the device to be located on the roadway adjacent the dock; thus, care must be exercised by the personnel to avoid being injured by the vehicle.
Other attempts to utilize locking mechanisms to obtain proper securement of the vehicle to the loading dock including U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/206,842, filed Mar. 7, 1994, and incorporated herein by reference, have had one or more of the following problems: (1) they are incapable of being utilized with a wide variety of vehicle designs because, for example, they may interfere with the vehicle undercarriage, tailgate lifts, mud flaps, or the adjacent tires; (2) they rely on the presence and structural integrity of the vehicle ICC bumper, which may be missing, damaged, or of insufficient strength to restrict vehicle motion; (3) they are awkward, difficult and time consuming to engage and disengage from the vehicle parked at the dock; and (4) the location of the mechanism at the loading dock interferes with the normal operation of the loading equipment during the loading and unloading operation.